Half to walter w



Anz.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

E. GRFPIN. WRITING MACHINE.

| l Jl L wenn mwa/@M I (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

E. GRIFFIN.

WRITING MACHINE.

110,518,499. Patented Apr. 17, 1894.

fig

www:

. (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

B. G MFPIN. WRITING MACHINE.

No. 518,499 Patented Apr. 17, 1894.

4 sheets-sheet 4.

(No Model.)

E GRIFFIN WRITING MACHINE.

Patented Apr. 17, 1894.

HmMMnNI j ing-Machines; and I do hereby declare that` UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE.

ELLSWORTH GRIFFIN, OF MILWAUKEE, VISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE I-IALF TOWALTER W. POLLOOK, OF SAME PLACE.

WRITING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters PatentNo. 518,499, dated April 17,1894.

l Application filed February 12| 1392 Serial No. 421,273. (N0 mel.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Fe it known that I, ELLswoRTH GRIFFIN, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee, and in theState of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inWrittion thereof.

My invention has for its primary object to facilitate the making out ofbank-checks, or analogous orders, as well as to guard against theraising of such orders; and to this end the s aid invention consists incertain peculiarities of construction and combination of parts to behereinafter described with reference to the accom panyin gdrawings andsubsequently claimed.

In the drawings: Figure l representsa vertical longitudinal section of amachine constructed according to my invention, certain o f the partsbeing in elevation; Fig. 2, a vertical transverse section of the machinewith certain of the parts in elevation; Fig. 3, a plan view of a portionof said machine; Fig. 4, a perspective view illustrating a spacing andprinting mechanism forming part of my Iinvention; Figs. 5 and 6 detailelevations illustrating certain parts ot' the spacing mechanism Fig. 7,a detail horizontal section taken on line 7--7 of"` Fig. 1. Figs. 8 and8a, are diagrams illustrating the scheme and operation of the printingcharacters employed in the machine illustrated by the preceding figures,and Figs. 9 to 1l inclusive are views that respectively represent aface, back, and section of a bank-check filled out on the aforesaidmachine.

Referring by letter to the drawings, A represents the base of my machineand fast on this base are suitable standardsBthat serveas sup-` portsfor a circular track C, the latterbeing rigidly secured to the standardsby any suitable in eans. The base A is also shown as provided with acenter-post D havingascrew-threaded lower end l? run down through acorrespondingly threaded nipple c, on said base, to engage a set-nut d,whereby an annular shoulder or ange e, on the post is brought and heldagainst the upper side of the aforesaid the following is a full, clear,and exact descripbase, but any other suitable means may be employed torigidly secure said post in place.

`The upper end of the center-post D is shown in the form of a conicalbearingf for engagement with a socket g that depends from the center ofa circular shell E, and in order to compensate for wear, said bearingmay coustitute a vertically adjustable section of said post.

By dotted lines in Fig. 1, I have shown the upper, or conical,section fof the post as having a screwthreaded socket-connection with theadjacent section, and in this instance a set-screw h is employed toretain the first of these post-sections in the position to which it maybe vertically adjusted, but I do not wish to be understood as limitingmyself to the exact construction shown and described, as means forcompensating for wear on certain parts of the machine.

The shell E is shown as provided with a circumferential right-angle angefi, and the lower edge of the vertical portion of this flange engages acorresponding groove in the circular track C, above described, theengaging fiange-edge and track-groovebeing preferably V-shaped incross-section to increase the bearing surface between the two. Thetiange c' of the shell E is provided with a series of guides jarrangedat suitable intervals apart, and loose in these guides are a corresponding series of pins F having shouldered lower ends in the form ofknobs k for individual engagement with a single corresponding recess min the circular` track C to hold said shell against rotation on itsbearing. Each of the stoppins F is provided with a `flange n adjacent toits upper end, and aspiral spring p is interposed between this fiangeand the guide for said pin. By the expansive force of the springs p thestop-pins F are automatically held up in their guides j clear of thecircular track C, the upward movement of` said pins being limited bytheir shouldered lower ends coming into contact with the under side ofthe shell-flange'i'above described.

Arranged within the shell E are upper and lower guides r for a series ofvertical bars Gr that form the shanks of a corresponding series ofdieblocks H, each of the latter being ICO y relative to one of theformer.

faced with a design representing an arbitra-` rily selected number,letter, syllable or word, and for the sake of convenience in descriptionthe bars and die-blocksvare sometimes taken collectively and includedunder the genera term type bars. Stops s are arranged on the type-barsbetween the guides for the same, and these stops are of variable lengthfor the purpose hereinafter described. Each type-bar has its upper endprovided with a head t and this head opposes a spiralspring I supportedon the upper one of the guides for said type-bar, the latter beinglimited as to movement, in either direction, by means of its stops scoming into contact with one or the other of said guides. The typebarscorrespond in number to the pins F, above described, and eachof thelatter is Each of the pins F is designated by a representation of thenumber, letter, syllable or word on its relative type-bar, and thesearbitrary designations are preferably indexed on the shell E, as clearlyillustrated in ig. 3. The recess rm in the circular track C is arrangedto come immediately in front of the operator ofthe machine, and to-bringany one of the type bars in line therewith, the relative one of the pinsF is pressed upon and the shell E swung around until automaticallystopped by the drop of said pin, under pressure, into said recess,whereby said type-bar is positioned over a platen J and under an impactdevice in the form of a lever K that is provided with a fulcrum-pin Uarranged in bearings on an arm L, the latter being sleeved onto the postD and made fast thereto by a set-screw o or other suitable means. Theplaten J is preferably a polygonal block trunnioned in standards tu onthe base A, and I prefer to cover said platen with an inkingribbon forthe purpose hereinafter described. The platen is positioned so as tohave any one of its faces register witha slot in a paper-support M thatis mounted on the base A and said platen is turned on its trunnions fromtime to time to bring a new portion of the ribbon uppermost.

Attached to the arm L is a support- N for another ribbon P, arrangedabove the platen J, and the lever K fulcrumed to said arm is connected,by means of a link Q, with a handlever R, the fulcrum for the latterbeing a supporting device y on the base A of the machine. The block J,when covered with the ribbon becomes an inking platen, while at the sametime this platen and the inking ribbon P constitute what is hereinaftertermed a duplex inking mechanism. A fiat-spring S opposed to thehand-lever R, acts to automatically return the same toits normalposition, and pivotally connected to the link Q is one end of anotherlever T that is fulcrumed in a support z on the machine-baseA the otherend of this lever being slotted or forked, as illustrated in Figs. 5 and6, to engage a lug c extended laterally from an arm V loose on a shaftV, the latter being arranged in bearings d on said base.

Pivotally connected to the loose arm V 1s a gravity pawl W that engagesa ratchet Wheel X fast on the shaft V, and apreferably corrugated rollerZ is also fast on said shaft in opposition to a spring-controlledpressureroller A loose in a frame e that forms part of one of thebearings for the aforesaid shaft. A spring-controlled detent b employedto lock the ratchet-wheel against reverse movement is best illustratedin Fig. 6.

Movable on the paper-support M in rear of the platen is a gage B havinga slotted rightangle shank f adjustable on the base A, a set-screw gbeing employed to hold said gageshank in its adjusted position. The gagebeing adjusted to stand the proper distance from the platen thebank-checks or other money orders .are successively laid upon thesupport to extend between the rollers A', Z, and have the line or spaceon which the amounts are written come immediately over the platen of themachine.

By a suitable scheme of printingcharacters, the machine may be organizedto print the designations of any amount from one upward, the machineshown being organized to print amounts in numerals and letters from oneto nine hundred ninety ninethousand nine hundred ninety nine inclusive,the type scheme consisting of representations of the Arabic notation 1to O inclusive, the words one,two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight,nine, ten, eleven, twelve, syllables thir, for, tif, teen, twen, ty,hund,red, thous, and, eigh, and the character /00, the last two typebeing shown in the diagram view, Fig. 8.

If numerals designating the amount of a check or order are to beprinted, the gage B is set so that, as a blank form is positioned on themachine, the space for said numerals will come immediately over theplaten, to receive the impact of the type representing said numerals.However in practice, it may be preferable to write the numerals, as aguide for the operator of the machine in filling out the body of thecheck or order with the amount expressed in words.

To express the amount of a check or order -in printed words, the gage Bis adjusted to permit the proper line or space on said check or order toalign over the platen. A blank IOO IIO

IZO

form being positioned on the support M, the V operator swings the shellE on its pivot, as above described, to bring the desired typebars intosuccessive register with the platen, and as eachof these type-bars isbrought over the printing point the hand-lever R is actuated to cause anupward movement of the link Q and consequent push of the lever K uponsaid type-bar, thereby causing an impact of the same against saidplaten, interposed ribbons and blank-form. The impact of the type-barand the arrangement of the on both sides of the form at the same timerollers A', Z, for lthe blank forms.

` and this form is embossed to a greater or less extent as may bedesired, according to the force with which said type-bar is impacted.The printing and embossing are clearly illustratedin Figs. 9 to 1linclusive, and by printing on both sides of the form and embossing thelatter, I guard against raising ofthe denominations thereon.

As previously stated, the stops s on the type-bars are variable as tolength, and the length ot each is such that its movement in eitherdirection is proportionate to the surface length of its printingface,.whereby I provide for correct spacing, through the medium of thepawl-and-ratchet mechanism above described in connection with the feedFor instance, the word Twelve has astop of such length as will permit ofa movement proportionate to the total of eight spaces, ot equalarbitrary length, as indicated by dotted lines in the diagram Fig. 8,two spaces being allowed for the capital letter beginning the word, fivefor the remaining letters in said word and one for the distance designedto come between the word and its predecessor, or successor. The matterot' provision for spacing before or after a word is one of preference inthe organization of the machine, but the type representing sufiixsyllables are always so cnt as to join iiush with a preceding word orsyllable. When a type-bar is impacted, the lever T is tilted on itsfulcrum in a direction to permit of the pawl W slipping past as many ofthe teeth on the ratchetwheel X as correspond to the number of spacesoccupied by the numeral, letter, syllable or word to be printed, thedistance between each two of said teeth being equal to that included inone of said arbitrary spaces. The printing, by a type-bar having beeneffected, the hand-lever, R, is released, and automatically returned toits normal position, by the power of its spring. By this return movementot' the hand-lever, the lever T is actuated to cause the pawl W tooperate the ratchet-wheel X, whereby the roller Z is partially rotatedand the form on support M automatically moved a distance equal to thetotal of the spaces corresponding in numberl to that of the teeth, onsaid ratchet-wheel, over which said pawl has previously slipped, andthus said form is positioned for the impact of another type-bar. In themeantime the Iirst type-bar is returned to its normal position by theexpansion ot the surrounding spring I, the latter having been previouslycompressed by the downward movement of said type-bar.

I have illustrated a bank-check calling for one hundred and twenty fivedollars, and to print the words representingthis amount, the type-barsfor one, hund red and twen ty tive would be successively ing of thetype-written matter thereon.

brought to the printing point by the proper adjustment of the rotativeshell E, the handlever R being operated to cause an impact of saidtype-bars and automatic movement of the check-form necessary to theproper spaz the check is to call for the fraction of a dollar and theform is provided with a Tm mark, as is sometimes the case, the handlever R is actuated to operate the pawl-and-ratchet spacing-mechanismuntilsad mark isbrought to the printing point, after which the typebarscorresponding to the numerator of the fraction are brought to saidprinting point and impacted as above described, the numeral type in thepresent machine being so positioned as to print a certain space abovethe line for the amount expressed by words. It the check form be notprovided with the W mark I employ the type-bar designed to print thecharacter /00 this type-bar being impacted after those necessary toexpress the numerator of the fraction.

By the employment of a machine such asl have described,the making out ofbank-checks and other money-orders in large numbers for various amountsis materially facilitated inasmuch as the designating of said amounts ispurely mechanical and very rapilyperformed in comparison to the doing ofthe same work by pen and ink, orby type-writing machines of the ordinaryconstruction. Having now fullydescribed my invention, what I claim asnew, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A writing-machine having movable type of different reading lengths,suitable means for impacting the type at a common printing point, othersuitable means for regulating the travel of each type in proportion toits reading length, a paper support, and a variable spacing-mechanismcooperative with the type, substantially as set forth.

2. A writing-machine having movable type of different reading lengths,suitable means tor regulating the travel of each type in proportion toits reading length, a paper support and feed-rollers, a pawl-and-ratchetmechanism governing the movement of the feedrollers, a platen, an impactdevice for the type at a common printing point, and alevermechanismcontrolling the pawl-and-ratchet mechanism and impact device,substantially as set forth. K

3. Awriting-maehine having movable type certain of which express anassemblage of letters forming syllables and words, suitable means forimpacting` the type at a common printing point, stops arranged toregulate the travel of each type in proportion to its reading length, avariable spacing mechanism co- IOO operative with the type, a papersupport, and

a platen, substantially as set forth.

4. A writingmachine havinga pivotal shell, a series of type that aremovable on the shell and having different reading lengths, suitablemeans for regulating the travel of each type in proportion to itsreading length, an impacting-mechanism for the type, a variablespacingmechanism cooperative With said type,a paper support, and aplaten, substantially as set forth.

5. A writing-machine having a horizontal circular track recessed at acertain point, a vertical center post provided With an adjustablesection in the form of a bearing, a rotative shell supported on thebearing and provided With a liange movable on the track,spring-controlled stop-pins carried on the iiange, a series of type-barsloose on the shell, an impacting-mechanism for the type-bars, suitablemechanism for automatically returning said type-bars to their normalposition after impact, a paper support, and a platen, substantially asset forth.

6. A Writing-machine havinga center-post Yprovided with an arm,a shellhaving pivotal connection with the post and carrying verticallyreciprocative type-bars, an impact-.lever fulcrumed on the post-arm andpositioned to come over any type-bar brought to the printing point, ahand-lever linked to the impactlever, a pair of feed-rollers one ofwhich is provided with a ratchet, another lever controlled by thelinkconnecting those aforesaid,

and a pawl connected to the' latter lever and A positioned to engagesaid ratchet, a paper support, and a platen, substantially as set forth.

7. A writing machine for designating on bank-checks or analogous ordersin numerals and letters any amount from one to nine hundred ninety ninethousand nine hundred ninety nine inclusive, the same comprising aseries of movable type-embraced ina scheme that essentially consists ofthe ten characters of the arabic notation, words one,tWo, three, four,tive, siX, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve; syllables thir, for,tif, teen, tWen, hund, ty, red, thous, eigh, and the character/Oogsuitablc means for impacting the type at a common printing point,other suitable means for regulating the travel of each type inproportion to its reading length, a papersupport, and a variable spacingmechanism co-operative with the type, substantially as set forth.

ln testimony that I claim theforegoing l have hereunto set my hand, atMilwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, inthepresence of two Witnesses.

s ELLSWORTH GRIFFIN.

Vitnesses:

' N. E. OLIPHANT, JOHN E. WILEs.

